Sweet Glutinous Rice Dumplings with Black Sesame

This is my interpretation of my grandma’s (my mom’s side) recipe. It is a dish from a specific region in China called “Chaozhou/Chiuchow 潮州”. My grandma is from Chiuchow. The original name of this snack is “Lok Tang Ci 落湯糍”, but most people will know this as “Nuomici 糯米糍”. Why is this sweet snack being served on Chinese New Year? It is because the word “Ci 糍” sounds almost exactly like the word “Chin 錢 (money)” in Chiuchow dialect. The dumplings are the symbol of wealth.

The dumplings should be made on New Year eve. On the first day of New Year, everyone in the family will go to grandma’s house. We greet each other, give red packets, receive red packets, sit around, eat and chat. These dumplings are one of the things that everyone loves. When the steaming hot dumplings come out of the kitchen and arrive on a table, everyone would run over with a pair of chopsticks and munch on their dumplings. Great memory!

One really interesting thing: My mom and my aunt are never allowed to eat the dumplings. It is because they are married. In Chinese culture, when a daughter married someone, she is the member of the husband’s family. Any family traditions from the daughter’s side of the family will not pass down to the daughter. And the daughter is considered an outsider. Since the dumplings symbolize wealth, my mom never got to eat the dumplings after she got married. But this year, my grandma has suddenly changed the rule to allow my mom to eat under one condition. No take out. (No money is being taken away from the family). Mom said that she hasn’t eaten that for 30 years. Haha… Lucky mom!

But yes, these little dumplings are gooey. Dip as much sugar as you want when eating. Don’t start talking when eating. I don’t think anyone will understand you when you have that sticky dumpling in your mouth. It is fun and tasty, and it will bring you wealth! Have a great new year!

P.S. Special thanks to my fifth uncle for helping out with the background information and recipe tips! I can’t finish this post without his help.

Ground the sesame seeds with a grinder into a coarse powder. Transfer to a plate. Set aside.

In a large pot or wok (with lid), put in the steaming rack and add water that reach 1 inch below the top of the rack. Bring the water to a boil over medium heat.

Meanwhile, in a medium bowl, add the flour. Mix in the water and oil until combined. The dough should be almost like play dough, but runnier. Transfer the dough to a medium bowl that can be steamed and fit in the wok.

Put the bowl on top of the steaming rack. Cover with lid and steam for 15 – 20 minutes or until the dough is cooked through.

Once the dough is ready, remove the bowl and place on a table. Have someone holding the bowl, stir the dough clockwise with a strong, long and thin utensil (like the handle of a wooden spoon) for 3 – 4 minutes. The dough will get stickier and tougher.

To make the dumplings, slightly grease a pair of chopsticks on one end. Holding the pair of chopsticks tightly, stab into the dough, pull out and twist the pair of chopsticks together to get approximately 1 tablespoonful of dough. Now, take one chopstick in each hand. Scrap the chopsticks back and forth against each other, until the dough has moved to the end of a chopstick. Use a slightly greased hand to separate the dumpling from the chopstick. Roll the dumpling in the sesame seeds until the dumpling is completely covered. Place the dumpling on a small steaming plate. Repeat with the rest of the dough.

To serve, cover the dumplings (in the steaming plate) with aluminum foil. Re-steam the dumplings for 2 – 4 minutes. Serve immediately. Dip the dumplings in sugar to serve.

Tips:

I don’t have a grinder or granite mortar. I tried to use the plastic bag and rolling pin method, but it didn’t really work. At the end, I used a wooden spoon to grind the seeds little by little in a small bowl. It was painful. Use a grinder!

Stirring the dough after 1st steaming will help to make the dough more gooey, which is critical.

I found the chopsticks to be helpful for making the dumplings. You can use any methods you want. The goal is to turn the cooked dough into 10 – 12 1-tablespoon balls.

The dumplings can make 1 day ahead. After the dumplings have been rolled with the sesame seeds. Place them on a steaming plate and cover with plastic wrap. Keep in the fridge. When ready to cook, remove the plastic wrap and cover with aluminum foil. Re-steam the dumplings for 12 – 14 minutes until ready to serve.

If you cannot find roasted sesame seeds, you can get regular black sesame seeds and toast them yourself. How to toast sesame seeds: Read

Thank you! Same to you. Thanks for your great recipe. If I didn’t see it from your blog, I will never think of making it. And of course, I will never find out the history and stories of this family snack.

糯米糍 are my kids favorite. They ask me to make them all the time. And they only care for the black sesame ones. hehehe….Yours look absolutely wonderful. Now, I want to make some to enjoy with my kids. My method is a bit different, instead of steaming the dough, I cook it on stove top. Happy CNY to you and your family. Wish you all the best in year of Snake.

I love the way you wrote about these rice dumplings with your family stories, culture and history. Being a Singaporean Chinese, I know that married women are considered out of their maternal families but didn’t know that married women are not supposed to eat these traditional dumplings. Kinda harsh, isn’t it?

Reading your stories does remind me a little bit about myself, living away from home… That’s why I’m trying the preserve some of food culture as much as possible.

Thank you for the comment. To know that someone appreciate my story, it means a lot to me.

I agree with you. It is definitely harsh and silly for not letting married women to eat the dumplings. I am amazed that how every little things have meanings behind it. It is good and it is bad. But oh well, that is the Chinese culture. We can only choose what to pick.

If I am still living in Hong Kong, I may not even aware or care about the story behind the dumplings. It is because I am far away from home. I want to know more about my family and the traditional food. Just like you, I want to bring and keep some traditional culture/food in my family. Keep up with the good work! Great to know you.